Academic Imposter Syndrome: When Everyone Else Seems Smarter 

It’s week five of first year, and I’m counting down the minutes until the end of my philosophy seminar. The tutor’s speaking Latin, my mouth is unbelievably dry, and another student seems to think it’s their life’s mission to play devil’s advocate. My reading notes consist of a mangled mess of copied and pasted quotations, and the sheer amount of academic jargon being thrown around is making me dizzy. I feel confused and frustrated as to why I’m the only one who doesn’t seem to understand anything, and I can’t help but wonder: do I deserve to be here? 

Three years on, I’ve managed to shake the feeling of academic imposter syndrome. It can be really disheartening to feel like things are slipping away from you in the classroom, especially when other aspects of uni life might also feel unstable. Luckily, there are ways to get over this feeling. If I could give one piece of advice to first-year me, it would be to take a step back from the seminar scenario and give herself a bit of grace.  

Aside from that, here are a couple of really important things you can do to alleviate academic imposter syndrome:

Remind yourself you’re readjusting 

It’s important to remind yourself of external factors that might contribute to you feeling like an academic imposter before you internalise it and stop going to seminars altogether. Going from structured school lessons to mostly independent university work can be jarring, and it’s difficult to adjust to the sometimes conversational nature of seminars when you’re used to being spoken at rather than to.  

Ignore the jargon! 

This way of teaching also tends to give way to particular people dominating the classroom — usually those who are very confident in themselves and their academic ability. From my experience, some people who use really obscure academic terminology do it solely for the purpose of making themselves look and feel smarter. If this is the case, then you shouldn’t feel insecure about your own understanding of the topic; having a larger vocabulary doesn’t make anyone’s ideas more important. 

Adopt a different perspective 

It can also be liberating to reshape the way you perceive not understanding. Instead of viewing it as a setback, try and see it as an opportunity to learn even more. You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s true: if you’re the smartest person in the room, then you’re in the wrong room. Learning should be uncomfortable. If you’re in a place where you can constantly deconstruct and rebuild what you know, then you’ll walk away a much smarter person.  

The main thing to remember is that, like everyone else, you have earned your place here. Feeling like an imposter, though sometimes inevitable, is completely pointless. You can wallow in self-doubt, but who does that benefit? Certainly not you. Who cares whether you feel like you deserve to be here? The fact is, you are, so make the most of it! 

Words by Romilly Anderson